TWPDJE: Real Life
by Laughter's Tears
Summary: Scenes and drabbles from the world of The Weirdest Pizza Delivery Job Ever from a different perspective. Will include events not told in Kate's journal. Rating is subject to change.


I intend for this do be a series of drabbles/ short scenes from my story The Weirdest Pizza Delivery Job Ever. There is always far more in my head for the story than what gets posted and a good deal of the discrepancy is because of the format. TWPDJE is told by Kate, written in her journal. She is an imperfect narrator and while it makes for some good reading (I hope) and fun writing, stuff gets left out.  
So I'll be filling this story with the things that didn't get written about in the journal. Kate and Max may not be in every chapter, but their footprint will be there.

* * *

It was late and her apartment was dark inside. The four brothers exchanged glances and silently reached for their weapons, anticipating a trap in an unknown situation. Leo slowly reached for the window, lifting it from the sill.  
Then a frightened voice called out to them, "Donatello? Is that you?" they put their weapons away and ducked inside, one by one.

Kate wasn't looking her best. Despite her efforts to cover it up, it was plain to see that she had been crying and was still not far from tears. Her face was red and blotchy, eyes swollen and bloodshot. She had changed into a pair of worn out sweatpants and an oversized tee-shirt. Overall, she looked like a mess.

"I felt a draft. And I looked and the window was opening. I hoped it was you…" she cut herself off with a shudder, "Thank you," she said, "for coming. I, um, I found out why I was in my trunk." she offered with a deceptively happy smile which faded after a few seconds. "You might want to sit down. Can I get you something to drink? I've got tea, hot chocolate, some soda, milk, water…" Mikey started to answer, but received an elbow to the side from Raphael. Kate didn't notice, bustling off to the kitchen while continuing to talk about beverages, "I think there's a bottle of apple juice, but I wouldn't vouch for its sell by date. I'm going to make some hot chocolate. How many?" she looked out over the countertop dividing the living room from the kitchen only to see worried faces.

"Kate?" Leonardo asked, "What happened?"

Kate turned and began rifling through a cupboard for cocoa powder. "Listen to the messages on the answering machine." she deflected. Her voice sounded hollow, as though the answer had sucked the life out of her. While they found the message, she went about making five cups of hot chocolate as though she was mixing the potion that would restore her to health and sanity. She was careful to keep her back to the turtles while they listened to the message—while she listened to it again. When it was over she wiped her eyes and brought the tray out to the grim-faced turtles with a broken smile that didn't even try to reach her eyes.

"What did the cops say?" Raph asked bluntly.

Kate couldn't meet any of their eyes. "I didn't call them. I mean, the police won't move without evidence, right?"  
She stood up and grabbed a laptop off of the counter, pulling up a Wikipedia page. "Look at how much land Oroku owns. Even here in New York looking for Max would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. And he could be halfway around the world." She sat back, helpless. "I just… I don't know what will happen if I go to the police. If they do decide to open an investigation, who's to say that won't be more dangerous for him? What if the police show up at his work asking questions and the kidnappers get scared and decide to—" she choked on the end of the sentence and shook her head, unable to speak of worse fates. "I just want him back. I'll worry about justice later. I just want him back." She started to cry and the turtles shifted uncomfortably. Leonardo, who was sitting the closest to her reached out to pat her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you and your brother got dragged into our mess." He said.

She sniffled and looked up at them confusedly. "Huh?" she replied eloquently.

What followed was a tale so strange that Kate would never have believed it were it not for the events of the last forty-eight hours. And even so, it was hardly a comforting tale.

"My brother was kidnapped by ninjas." Kate was lying on the couch, trying to take it all in. "The police are never going to believe me now!" she started to laugh. In her periphery, she saw the turtles edge away from her. She was aware that she probably sounded like a lunatic, but the entire situation was just so insane. Slowly her laughter turned to sobs. The boys stood around uncomfortably whispering amongst themselves as she sat up and cried into a pillow.

A lukewarm mug of cocoa and a roll of toilet paper were thrust into her personal space.

"Here. We couldn't find any tissues." Michelangelo smiled hopefully at her. Kate took the mug, dried her eyes on the edge of her sleeve, and did her best to return the smile. The other turtles immediately relaxed.

"We'll help you find your brother." Donatello promised. Looking around the room she could see that he spoke for all of them. There was a determination on their faces that made her believe that they could do it.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Already hope was welling up inside her, no matter how she tried to tell herself not to set herself up for a crushing disappointment. These boys somehow made her believe that they could do it. "How can I help? What do you need me to do?" she asked.

The night was long as she answered question after question, telling them everything she knew about her brother and his work. Finally, at well past the midnight hour, they retreated out her window leaving her with a promise to stay in touch.

If Kate had known what had begun that night, she might have given it more note; perhaps a bit of celebration to mark the occasion. But she was both exhausted and unable to see the future that lay before her. So she jotted down her jumbled thoughts in her journal, finished off a bit of leftover pasta, and collapsed into her bed.

* * *

This scene takes place in between chapters eight and nine.


End file.
